1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to racks, shelves, and the like, and more particularly to a modular display case or shelving for the display of a series of coins. One or more frames are provided atop a base, with each of the frames having a series of independently rotatable elements for the display of both sides of a coin held therein. The frames are horizontally disposed with vertical coin rotational axes for the display of commemorative coins, where the obverse and reverse faces have the same orientation. An alternative orientation is also provided, for monetary coins with relatively inverted obverse and reverse faces.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coins, medals, and the like stamped from a flat piece of metal have been used in trade from the earliest times of recorded history. Generally, such coins are stamped on both sides (known as obverse and reverse sides) from relatively small discs of precious or other metal. More recently, various manufacturers have developed innumerable coins, medals, and the like to commemorate various events, associations, etc. These coins and medals are also generally stamped or minted from flat metal discs, with two opposed dies being used to form an image on both sides of the coin.
As interest has grown in the collection and display of such coins, various devices (stands, shelves, etc.) have been developed to provide for the display of various coins. Most such devices display the coins or medals resting upon a background of some sort, and thus display only a single side or face of the coin. While others have developed display devices which enable both sides of a coin to be viewed alternately, most such devices comprise a relatively large sheet or plate in which a series of coins are immovably affixed, with it being necessary to turn the entire sheet or plate to view the opposite sides of the coins. In other words, there is no way to turn a single coin independently of the others, to view the reverse face of only a single coin, and perhaps compare the reverse face to the obverse face of an adjacent identical coin.
As a result, there have been some limited efforts to provide coin display devices which enable each coin to be turned independently from one another. However, such devices generally comprise relatively large sheets or plates, and do not provide for modular addition to the display case as coins are added to the collection. Such displays commonly include large areas where no coins are installed, as it is impossible to remove portions of the display area for smaller collections.
Moreover, most such devices which provide for the rotation of coins within a display holder in order to view both sides of the coin alternately, are directed toward monetary coins. Monetary coins almost universally have their obverse and reverse sides stamped inverted relative to one another. Thus, the rotational axis for mounting the coin must be horizontal to position both the obverse and reverse sides of the coins upright for the viewer. Commemorative coins and medals, also known as military coins which commemorate certain military units or events, are almost universally minted with the obverse and reverse sides oriented in the same direction. In other words, turning a commemorative coin over about a horizontal axis, as is done with monetary coins, results in the inversion of both faces of the coin. Such a system is unsuitable for use in displaying commemorative coins.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a modular coin display case which provides for the selective display of both faces of commemorative coins, where the faces are oriented in the same direction. The present display case comprises one or more (preferably a series of) separable frames, with each of the frames being capable of holding a series of coins. Each of the coins in leach frame is separately mounted pivotally between opposite walls of the frame, thus allowing a person to inspect each side of a given coin independently of all other coins within a given frame and other coins and frames of the present display case. The base of the present display case provides for the display of non-circular and/or oddly shaped coins and medals, which do not fit the display frames. In another embodiment, the frames may be placed vertically atop the base so as to orient the pivotal axes for the coins horizontally, thus providing for the selective upright display of both faces of monetary coins, where those faces are inverted relative to one another.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,897 issued on Oct. 28, 1969 to Walter Rambow, titled xe2x80x9cDisplay Device For Objects Such As Coins And The Like,xe2x80x9d describes a display board having a series of sockets into which a series of plugs may be removably installed. Each of the plugs holds a circular coin display holder thereon. In other embodiments, a series of ribs are placed on the board, with the ribs having shoulders for gripping the edges of the coin holders. None of the embodiments disclosed by Rambow provide for any movement of the coins displayed therein, unlike the present invention with its pivotally mounted coin holders and coins.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,643 issued on Dec. 4, 1973 to Victor Titoff, titled xe2x80x9cDevice For Simultaneously Displaying The Front And Rear Of Coins,xe2x80x9d describes a stand in which one or more coins are held by clips which hold their bottom edges. A mirror is provided in back of the coins, for viewing the reverse sides thereof. While the Titoff coin holder will work to a certain extent with commemorative coins, where their faces are oriented in the same direction, it cannot be made to work with monetary coins with relatively inverted obverse and reverse faces. In any event, the face viewed in the mirror of the Titoff holder is reversed, thus making it difficult to read any indicia, numbers, etc. thereon. The present display case enables each coin to be rotated independently of others so each face may be viewed directly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,475 issued on Sep. 24, 1974 to Gerrit M. Bolanz, titled xe2x80x9cStorage Device For Coins And Similar Objects,xe2x80x9d describes an adjustable rack for holding a single coin. The Bolanz device is adjustable to hold coins of different diameters, with the adjustable portion held in a sealed enclosure with transparent panels on each side thereof. Bolanz does not disclose any means for pivoting his coin holder or display device to allow a person to examine both sides of a coin alternately from one side of the device, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,410 issued on Oct. 29, 1974 to Luther N. Cook, titled xe2x80x9cMounting Of Coins In The Faces Of Coin Albums,xe2x80x9d describes the pivotal mounting of coins in a relatively thin sheet of material, between a pair of horizontally opposed pivots. A selectively releasable lock is provided 90 degrees to the pivots, to hold the coins in the desired plane. While the Cook device enables the viewer to selectively pivot any given coin or coins from the plane of the holder sheet, the relatively thin nature of the sheets precludes the pivotal movement of any coins being held in closely adjacent sheets, i.e., when the album is closed or nearly closed. Each frame of the present coin display case might be considered analogous to one display sheet of the Cook album, with the frame edges of the present display case being aligned beside one another rather than being stacked in registry with one another, as are the pages of the Cook album. This enables any coin(s) in any frame(s) to be rotated without interference from any other frame(s), in the present display case.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,477 issued on Aug. 23, 1977 to Raymond E. Deese, titled xe2x80x9cCoin Display,xe2x80x9d describes a series of generally rectangular, interlocking frames, each of which may hold a single coin between two transparent sheets of material. The coins are held in place by inserts which hold each coin centered within its corresponding frame. The relatively flat, thin configuration of the resulting assembly does not permit the coins to be rotated within their holders or display, as provided by the present coin display case invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,399 issued on Sep. 6, 1983 to Wolfgang Friess, titled xe2x80x9cSystem For The Storage Of Coins And The Like,xe2x80x9d describes a flat plate sandwich structure for holding a series of coins therein. A central layer includes a series of passages therethrough for holding coins therein, with an unbroken clear sheet of material overlying the central sheet. As a result, any coins held in the Friess coin holder cannot be turned individually. The only way to see the obverse sides of the coins held in the Friess holder, is to turn the entire sheet over.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,761 issued on Jan. 7, 1997 to David B. Owen, titled xe2x80x9cCoin Display Holder,xe2x80x9d describes a device having an opening with a series of three generally radially disposed flexible arms extending inwardly from the wall of the opening. The arms serve to grip the edges of the coin and hold it within the opening. The Owen holder works well for irregularly shaped coins, but cannot provide for rotation of the coin to view both sides thereof from one side of the holder, as does the present coin display case.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,915 issued on Jun. 23, 1998 to David Crumrine et al., titled xe2x80x9cCoin Display Device,xe2x80x9d describes an assembly for displaying one face of a coin in a belt buckle, ring, or the like. The Crumrine et al. assembly sandwiches the coin beneath a transparent window, which is in turn assembled in a buckle assembly or the like. While Crumrine et al. state that both sides of the captured coin may be viewed selectively, their holder holds only a single coin and does not provide for turning or rotating a single holder which is a part of a group of holders in a case, as is accomplished by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,755 issued on Mar. 23, 1999 to Richard M. Vaccarella, titled xe2x80x9cRevolving Coin Display Stand,xe2x80x9d describes a desktop display stand for proof sets involving a limited number of coins. The Vaccarella stand allows a person to turn over the entire display portion to view the obverse sides of the coins, but the coins cannot be turned individually and independently of one another, as in the present display case. Moreover, the Vaccarella stand is directed only to coins having their obverse and reverse sides inverted relative to one another, and would invert both faces of commemorative coins when used with such coins and turned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,365 issued on Nov. 23, 1999 to Natalie D. McAdams, titled xe2x80x9cCoin Display Case,xe2x80x9d describes a device resembling the Vaccarella coin display holder described immediately above, in that it also holds a series of coins in a single holder which may be rotated about a horizontal axis. The same distinctions noted with the Vaccarella holder, are seen to apply here as well.
U.S. Pat. No. D-378,222 issued on Feb. 25, 1997 to Maria Svrcek, titled xe2x80x9cGold Chocolate Coin Display,xe2x80x9d illustrates a design having the appearance of a transparent suitcase or attache case randomly filled with coins, most of which overlap one another. No means is apparent for displaying the coins individually, nor for rotating them either collectively or individually to show their reverse faces, as provided by the present coin display case invention.
Finally, British Patent Publication No. 1,106,395 published on Mar. 13, 1968 to Jan Wolfert, titled xe2x80x9cImprovements In Coin Albums,xe2x80x9d describes a sheet having one or more relatively large holes therein, with a series of concentrically fitting rings for selectively installing within each hole. This system permits coins of virtually any size to be installed securely within the holes in the sheet, using none, or one or more, of the rings for fit. As the coins are immovably held within the sheet by the fitting rings, the coins cannot be rotated out of the plane of the sheet to examine their reverse sides, as is permitted by the present coin display case invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a coin display case solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
A coin display case provides for the reversible viewing of a series of coins displayed therein, with each of the coins being selectively reversible within the case, independently of other coins. The present case comprises a base having a drawer therein for the storage of undisplayed coins, additional mounting brackets or holders, information sheets or brochures, etc. as desired. The upper portion of the base is sloped and includes a tray therein for the display of irregularly shaped coins or others which do not fit the vertically disposed display shelves of the present display case. The back of the base has a coin display shelf mounting area extending thereacross for the installation of a horizontally disposed coin display shelf thereon, with additional horizontal shelves being stackable atop the first shelf.
Each shelf comprises an open rectangular frame, with a series of opposed pivot pairs extending inwardly from the opposite walls thereof. Each pivot pair serves to capture a coin pivotally therebetween, thus allowing each coin to be pivoted or rotated independently of others in order to view each face selectively as desired. The vertical pivot axes thus provided are adapted for viewing the opposite faces of commemorative or military coins, which are conventionally minted or stamped with both faces oriented in the same direction. Alternatively, the shelves of the present display case may be installed with their longitudinal axes oriented vertically, to orient the coin rotational axes horizontally for proper orientation of the mutually inverted faces of monetary coins.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a coin display case providing for the selective display off both sides of each coin of a series of coins secured therein, with the display of each side of each coin being independent of other coins in the display case.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a coin display case in which each coin is mounted between a pair of vertically opposed holder axes in a shelf frame, allowing the coin to be rotated about its vertical axis for proper display of opposed coin faces having the same relative orientation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a coin holder having a base with a storage drawer and display tray for additional coins, with the base further having a mounting area for the first shelf of a series of stackable shelves, each of which provides for pivotally holding a series of coins therein.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a coin holder in which the shelves may be oriented with their pivoting coin holders disposed horizontally, for the pivotal display of opposed coin faces where the coin faces are inverted, relative to one another.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.